By the seventh century B.C., Indian settlements extended in a long uneven strip of Panjab to Bihar with a heterogeneous type of population but with enough of a common language and tradition.  The common tradition favoured considerable social intercourse and trade and the society eventually formed their first settlements.  But before they could advance to a higher level, soon they broke into smaller segments.  It is between 520 B.C (Bimbasara's conquest of Anga) and 360 B.C. (Destruction of Aryan tribes by the Maha Padma Nanda), the necessary steps were taken to form a new type of society. Magadha enjoyed a new development, Buddhism was practised as a religion and Magadhan empire was extended throughout India.

The historical centre of gravity shifted from Panjab to the Gangetic valley by the seventh century B.C.  The conquest of Darius in the third quarter of sixth century B.C.,  had brought him the land of seven rivers, of which Kambujiya, Gandhara and Indus could be mentioned here.  Taxila stood between two powerful trading empires of those days, namely Persia and the growing kingdom of Gangetic valley. Rest of the Panjab was ruled by the Purus till Alexandran conquest.  The population of Indus valley was armed better that time, with a solid basis of crops production and good trade.  The southern peninsula was still in a state of late stone-age savagery ?  The pastoral life must have spread down all the way till the Andhra coast. The needy Brahmins from Bihar  and the hardy traders penetrated the region by then.  The southern region was soon absorbed into the Mauryan empire.

Around 600 B.C., in the Gangetic valley there co-existed distinct sets of social groups in various stages of development. Bengal was a dense forest, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh was thinly inhabited by tribals who did not communicate in Aryan language.  The developed tribes above them in contact were constantly in conflict.  This higher non Aryan groups who spoke their own language were Nagas. The Aryans were divided into caste-classes. The leading frontier city in the north-west was Taxila.  The unidentified city Kukkutavati, where a Maha-Kapphina ruled was near Kamboja (or perhaps Kashmir).  A Gandharan king is said to have exchanged gifts with Bimbasara of Magadha and travelled on foot to see Gauthama Buddha.  The kingdom in the south near Godhavari was Asmaka and adjacent to was the county Alaka.  Both of these were Andhras.

The important kingdom was Avanti with its well known capital Ujjain. Pradyota seems to have ruled this place with Kosambi to Ujjain as his trade route.  Some historians have shown Ajatashatru repairing his forts in anticipation of Prajota's raid.  Of the rest, the Surasena kingdom with capital at Mathura was known to Greeks.  Three Aryan tribal kingdoms of Kuru, Panchala and Matsya were known to the epic tradition.

Following thumbnail takes you further on the history of :

The Rise of Magadha

The Brihadratas

 

The Haryankas

 

The Shishunagas

 

The Nandas

 

The Mauryas

 

LAST UPDATED 1st Nov 2001
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